14 Vietnam Laos Adventure Guided Motorcycle Tour

Day 1: Arrival - Hanoi

One arrives either in the morning or the afternoon at the Hanoi airport depending on the airline. It’s a half-hour drive to the hotel in the center of the old town.

Day 2: Hanoi - Mai Chau

The trip to the west starts with the bustle of the morning rush hour in the capital. Jam-packed mopeds force their way through the city and we form a small part of this crowd. From Xuan Mai onwards we follow a part of the Ho Chi Minh trail. What is now a beautiful route used to be nothing more than a trail through the jungle used by the North Vietnamese to supply the South during the war. Thereafter, we ride on narrow quiet country lanes to lunch near Cam Thuy from where we take the main road to the Pu Luong National Park and on to Mai Chau.

We stay overnight in a Thai home. It is not a luxurious experience but it is a special one. Copious amounts of rice wine will be poured by the village elder in the evening.

Day 3: Mai Chau - Viang Xai

It is an early rise today as we will cross borders which always takes some time. Just outside Mai Chai we briefly visit one of the chopstick factories along the way. Next, we wend our way along narrow inland roads to the border checkpoint with Laos (Na Meo). After the border formalities, we enter the world of Laos where time has long stood still. The leisurely pace in this sparsely populated country brings you into a different rhythm immediately. After the border it is just over 50 km through beautiful karst mountains to the impressive caves of Vieng Xay. Depending on the time, we can stop for a visit, or we drive straight to our accommodation.

Day 4: Viang Xai – Muang Kham

If we have not been able to visit the Caves yesterday, we can do so this morning. Alternatively, we explore the southern part of Nam-Et Phou Louey National Park – via some adventurous gravel paths.

Then we continue via a tarmac but beautiful and quiet road through lush green terrain Eastwards. It is a very remote area. We can ride for 90 kilometers by ourselves in our own speed until we meet again at the first cross-section for lunch. From there we scroll further southwards to our resting place for the night: Muang Kham.

Day 5: Muang Kham– Phonsavan

Today we take the time to visit the Plain of Jars. It is only another 50 kilometres to Phonsavan, but we will take our time to drive there, and to explore small routes along the way to visit the different sites. The different plains around Phonsavan are filled with gigantic stone jars. The jars are sometimes more than five meters high. How the jars came to be here and what their purpose was remains unknown. It is definitely worth the effort to visit one of the plains. The area around Phonsavan suffered much bombing during the Vietnam War. During this period, Laos was a free bombing zone. This was due to the fact that the Ho Chi Minh trail, the supply route from the north of Vietnam to the Vietcong fighters in the south, ran through Laos. One can find a lot of bomb debris still in this area. Old bomb casings serve as feeding troughs or as poles on which houses are built.

Day 6: Phonsavan – Luang Prabang

This is a long route but completely surfaced and perhaps the most beautiful part of Laos. The road starts a bit straight and flat, but soon become curvier, windy and hilly. The rice paddies climb in giant steps up green, green hillsides. The terracing, created by hand over many centuries, is a remarkable feat. Bullocks are used to pull ploughs, but the back-breaking work of planting, tending and harvesting is still done by hand. We slalom through small villages and clusters of houses, passing open markets and often friendly and welcoming people. The end of the afternoon we arrive in Luang Prabang –literally meaning "Royal Buddha Image"

Day 7: Luang Prabang - Overnight stay

We spend the day in this beautiful city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city slows your pulse and awakens your imagination: Sitting at the sacred confluence of the Mekong River and the Nam Khan (Khan River), nowhere else can lay claim to this UNESCO-protected gem's romance of 33 gilded wats, saffron-clad monks, faded Indochinese villas and exquisite fusion cuisine.

We can also possibly make a trip in the morning to the UNESCO-protected Kuang Xi Waterfall, about 15 km outside of Luang Prabang. There are many temples to see in the surroundings of Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is also a perfect city to sit in a cafe on the banks of the river.

Day 8: Luang Prabang – Oudomsay (Muang Xai)

We have multiple options to ride to Oudomsay, and the exact journey depends on the group experience, the latest road status and the weather. In general, we start the morning along winding dirt roads headed Northwards. This is mostly unsurfaced and sometimes in a very bad condition. It is a very isolated area, so we will pack some snacks for a light lunch. We follow rivers, ride along some magnificent mountain ridges and combine dirt with asphalt, which makes for an exciting journey. Oudomsay is an easy town, but the largest in North Laos. It is situated at the Nam Ko river, and it is encircled by dramatic mountain ranges made up of craggy limestone cliffs. There are several restaurants around to explore.

Day 9: Oudomsay - Nong Khiaw

Today is a relaxing ride through a lush green mountainous area along curvy roads. Whilst it is a relatively short distance on surfaced grounds, the 1000 curves will take us time. We will arrive around lunchtime in our hotel. The afternoon we will use for chilling or an optional boat ride on the Nam Ou River.

Day 10: Nong Khiaw - Muang Khua

Today will be one of the most adventurous days, only 100km but 90% unsurfaced. The support car will not join us as we will follow a mix of wide and small paths and unsteady bridges. Difficulty of this route is entirely dependent on rainfall. The rain may have changed the surface layer of clay into a smooth mirror. Muang Khua is a small stop over town; its river setting is surprisingly picturesque, and it has a small local market worth visiting early mornings.

Day 11: Muang Khua – Dien Bien Phu

Today is a short ride to the border with Vietnam where we will need to take our time for paperwork. We hope to arrive in Dien Bien Phu by lunchtime. Dien Bien Phu developed itself in recent years from small village to a big city.

The city is famous for the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the decisive engagement in the First Indochina War (1946–54). It consisted of a struggle between French and Viet Minh (Vietnamese Communist and nationalist) forces for control of a small mountain outpost on the Vietnamese border near Laos. The Viet Minh victory in this battle effectively ended the eight-year-old war.

In the afternoon, we have time to visit a bunker and the museum of the legendary battle.

Day 12: Dien Bien Phu – Ta Xua

Today we make an early start for a beautiful ride through the Vietnamese countryside. We will stay on the asphalt, but we will take narrow and remote routes, riding up and down between 100-meter altitude and 1600 meters. We make our way to Ta Xua nature reserve, a mountain reserve hardly visited by foreign tourists but popular by the Vietnamese who are “hunting for clouds”. There are spectacular cloud views.

Day 13: Ta Xua - Hanoi

This is a long day’s ride back to the capital, swindling through the countryside and avoiding the highways. In the morning, the roads are quiet but the closer we get to Hanoi the busier it gets. This is the last stage of the trip but certainly not the least: for many participants, riding into the city in the massive traffic is a fantastic end to the trip.

Day 14: Hanoi - Departure

Transfer to the airport for your flight. You can extend your stay with a visit to Halong Bay or another day in Hanoi.

• LAO2402 from 4/10/24 to 18/10/24